Bad Tölz is home of the winch training center for the german rescue teams. Located close to the Alps in the Southern Bavaria, Germany, the ZSA (Zentrum für Sicherheit und Ausbildung) provides indoor facilities to the mountain recue teams and helicopter crews.

Inside a room of approximately 1500 sqm and a height of 20 meters, two cranes simulate helicopter flights.

The first helicopter is a lucky BK117 that, instead of being scrapped, was shipped from the US back to Germany. It was then dismantled, the structure was kept, with the windows, the doors, and the landing skids. An electric winch was installed on a side. Fans create the downwash, and strobe lights simulate the shadow of the rotor blades hiding the sunlight.

The other aircraft was built by the Austrian company AMST. The BK117 was not sufficient to simulate bigger helicopters such as the Super Puma or NH90. The equipment is similar to the BK117, with small improvements. The winch can be positioned differently, closer to the fuselage, or farther out. The doors can slide to the front or to the back. All this will depend on which type of aircraft you are suppose to be flying.

The aircraft are piloted from the cockpit like real helicopters. Even though the behaviour is not meant to be realistic to the pilot, the platform provide the 6 axes of movement: translation forward and backward, to the sides, up and down, pitch, roll, and yaw.

The simulators are not meant to train the pilots, but the cabin crews: winch operator, rescuer under the hook, or any other personnel who has to be lifted or dropped from a helicopter. The benefits are obvious: training costs drop to a fraction of the flight costs, the flight can be paused at any moment, and even the wind and noise can be silenced in order to practice quietly.

The two aircraft in the hall

BK117 in the air

The former BK117 was transformed and now flies indoor

BK117 cockpit: the pilots flies with the sticks and operates the crane

The BK117 under its crane

Close view of the BK117 winch

Rescue in a gondola

The big helicopter under its crane. After the success encountered by the BK117, this second fuselage was designed and built by the Austrian company AMST for the sole purpose of crew training in the ZSA-Bergwacht hall.

The big fuselage seen from above. The house can be flooded and the rescue is made on the roof.

Side view of the big fuselage

Cockpit

Another view of the cockpit

Inside the cabin

View from the front

The cockpit in flight

Going down from the big helicopter. The winch can be positioned closer to the fuselage, or further out.

Rescueing a climber stuck on the wall. In order to make the situation more realistic, the climber was left hanging for 15 min.

The climber was rescued

Prepared to rescue

Because discussions and theory courses have to be made, conference rooms are available

The swimming pool can be filled with (cold) water, turbines create current, and an ice sheet can be simulated with plastic boards

Below the climbing wall, a soft mattress

Wide view of the hall

The cold room can go down to -20°C (-4°F)

Thick and heavy doors for the cold room

The rescue of injured people can be simulated from the start to the end with the hospital room